Page 11 of Perfect Convergence

Still, she perks up slightly when she meets my gaze, and it eases the tension in my chest some.

“Elliot.” She pulls me into a hug, kissing my cheek as she does.

“Hi.” The word comes out too tense.

When she pulls away, she strokes my cheek, frowning. “You don’t look too good. Do you need to sit down? Or maybe drink some water?”

I need to not lose you.

“I’m okay.” Then I look her up and down. “I mean this in the kindest way possible, but you don’t look too good, either.”

She laughs, turning and heading further into her apartment. “At least I have an excuse.”

Fuck. Fuck. Am I the reason?

“I’m sorry,” I blurt, stepping in and shutting the door behind me. “I... Things shouldn’t’ve—uh. I never should’ve said what I said. Never should’ve thought it.”

Jesus Christ. Where are all the communication skills I’ve learned over the past twenty-eight years of my life? Gone, apparently.

She turns, giving me a quizzical look. “What?”

“I didn’t want to make you miserable.”

She brings a hand up to her mouth to stifle a giggle. “Elliot. This isn’t because of what happened yesterday evening.”

“Oh.” I breathe a sigh of relief.

“I guess I figured Rhett would’ve told you. I got my period last night, and the first couple days are always miserable.”

Ah. So that’s why Rhett was acting awkward this morning when Oliver asked how she was doing.

“And I talked to my mom after work,” Wren continues, “which was terrible. She harassed me about Adam and told me I made a huge mistake by breaking up with him, and then she went on about how I need to start popping out babies, and it made me realize that I let Adam tell me how to live my life instead of sticking with my original plans, which were really fucking cool, actually, and now I’m just pissed at myself, and I don’t even know if I want kids anymore, or any of the stuff I decided I wanted because I was with Adam, and—” Her eyes widen, and she stops.

I raise an eyebrow, waiting for her to go on, but she buries her face in her hands.

“Why do I keep dumping all of my shit on you?” she groans.

I step closer to her, but then I pause.

What if she doesn’t want you to touch her?

“I don’t mind listening,” I say gently. “It sounds like you have a lot on your mind.”

Friday night, she did something similar, talking about how Adam made her feel like she didn’t matter to him. It broke my heart then—the thought of her not feeling like she was enough. And now? Well, I’m ready to follow in Rhett’s footsteps and pay Adam another visit.

“I don’t really want to think about it right now,” Wren says. She wraps her arms around herself, rocking back on her heels. “Um. Did you eat dinner?”

“You don’t have to make me anything.”

“Oh, trust me, the last thing I want to do right now is cook.” She moves through her tiny kitchen, opening a cupboard door. “My dinner plans include eating a shit ton of pretzels, cheese, and...” She turns, surveying her counters before grabbing a lone apple. “This!”

I smile but don’t say anything, shoving my hands in my pockets. God, why do I feel so awkward right now?

Wren’s smile fades as she takes me in. Then she sighs and sets down the apple, rounding the counter until we’re only a few feet apart. For a minute, we just watch each other silently. She looks as uncomfortable as I feel.

“Wren...”

What am I even supposed to say? How do I make up for last night? I barely got a chance to apologize. And I can’t imagine how I made Wren feel. Unwanted? Like I’m going to toss her aside at any moment? Like she’s not worthy of keeping?

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